Friday, March 18, 2011

Mammatus Clouds- I just LOVE these!

"Mammatus, also known as mammatocumulus (meaning "mammary cloud" or "breast cloud"),[1][2] is a meteorological term applied to a cellular pattern of pouches hanging underneath the base of a cloud. The name mammatus, derived from the Latin mamma(meaning "udder" or "breast"), refers to a resemblance between the characteristic shape of these clouds and the breast of a woman." Wikipedia

"Mammatus are most often associated with the anvil cloud and also severe thunderstorms. that extends from a cumulonimbus, but may also be found under altocumulus, altostratus,stratocumulus, and cirrus clouds, as well as volcanic ash clouds.[citation needed] In the United States, sky gazers may be most familiar with the very distinct and more common cumulonimbus mammatus. When occurring in cumulonimbus, mammatus are often indicative of a particularly strong storm or maybe even a tornadicstorm. Due to the intensely sheared environment in which mammatus form, aviators are strongly cautioned to avoid cumulonimbus with mammatus." Wikipedia